U.S. Mint to Release Final 2011 Silver Bullion Coins

The U.S. Mint is preparing to release the fifth and final five-ounce silver bullion coin in its 2011 series, the Mint said Tuesday.

It will begin accepting orders from participating silver authorized purchasers on July 18 for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, the fifth coin in the 2011 America the Beautiful silver bullion coin series. The coins will be offered on an allocation basis, divided equally among participating silver authorized purchasers, which is how the Mint distributes its bullion coins.

The Mint has been issuing the 2011 America the Beautiful silver bullion coin program in substantially higher quantities than it did for the 2010 program. An initial quantity of 126,700 coins for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area issue will be released, the Mint said in a memo to its authorized purchasers.

"As a result, there are no terms and conditions imposed on the 2011 program. . .The United States Mint may increase the mintage limit beyond the initial release quantities based on market demand and blank availability," it said.

To participate in the program, authorized purchasers must certify they sold all of their 2010 "America the Beautiful" five-ounce silver bullion coins.

Late last year the Mint had to delay the release of the 2010 designs because of concerns of price gouging. Also, only 33,000 of each of the five, five-ounce silver bullion coins were released.